UNDERGROUND: How This Transgender Woman Used Black Market Drugs to Transition

Ivana Black sat nervously on a plastic-covered couch in the home of a stranger; a person she had never met and with whom she was trusting her life. She had driven almost 100 miles to get here.

The 18-year-old was told the woman who lived here could get her the shots she needed. Ivana felt her life depended on it.

An older woman wearing a nightgown-dress emerged and summoned Ivana to a bedroom. She told Ivana not to worry. But Ivana was terrified.

Ivana watched the woman as she took out a syringe and the drugs for which Ivana had paid $40 in advance. Then Ivana turned around and bent over for the shot.

This is worth it, she thought.

The sting of the needle pierced her skin, and made her feel dizzy. It was the first of many gambles Ivana would take with black market drugs, drugs that she said allowed her to physically transition into the woman she is today.

Ivana Black was assigned male at birth. Now 45 years old and living as a woman in New York City, she works part-time as an entertainer and an actress. She lives in West Harlem with her small dog, Angel.

Ivana started transitioning in her late-teens while living in the Midwest. She began with birth control pills because, she says, they were the most accessible form of hormones at the time
ABC News
West Harlem resident, Ivana Black, was assigned male at birth and has transitioned using black market drugs, June 2015.more +
Ivana said she wanted to transition to a woman as quickly as possible. Faced with too many financial hurdles and finding difficulty in navigating the health care system, she turned to alternative means.

For most of her life, Ivana says, she has used black market drugs, including hormones and silicone injections she bought from strangers or people on the street. While Ivana does use some legal drugs now, she still gets hormones outside her prescription because, she says, they can be stronger and she wants an extra “little boost” here and there.

Transgender women take estrogen, often adding an androgen blocker that stops the body from producing testosterone. The hormones help change a person’s appearance, including body shape, breast development, hair growth and skin texture. People may use silicone injections to make their breasts or buttocks larger, and to make cheekbones have a more feminine appearance.

“There’s that time when you were this person, this boy and there’s a time where you know you’re going to be this woman,” Ivana said. “That time in between is going to be the hardest time, because this is the time you’re going to fight for, when society gives you the most problems … I’ve been shot at, chased, discriminated against.”

Although health care laws have evolved since her transition started, many transgender people remain without health insurance coverage for transition-related care. Eight states and theDistrict of Columbia now offer transgender health care under Medicaid, and 15 states and the District of Columbia require private insurance companies to cover transgender health care, according to the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund.

“Insurance care is a patchwork and a real sore spot for transgender people, many who cannot access coverage for the care that they need,” Michael Silverman, executive director at Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, told ABC News.

“We have a few states that have moved to require equal coverage for transition-related care. But most states still do not require that. And most transgender people are simply struggling to get the care that they need.
ABC News
West Harlem resident, Ivana Black, was assigned male at birth and has transitioned using black market drugs, June 2015.more +
Dr. Zil Goldstein, who specializes in serving the LGBT community, and who has transitioned herself, said that even if a client has insurance coverage on paper, it can be a challenge to sift through the red tape to receive transition-related care.

To be prescribed hormones, some providers require a psych evaluation and others still use a three to six month “real life experience” guideline, which means living as the gender a person identifies with, Goldstein said.

Even with a prescription, patients can still face challenges.

“I’ve written prescriptions for hormones and they’ve been rejected by the pharmacy,” Goldstein said. “Then the pharmacist has to call my office, we have to talk to the insurance company, the insurance company has to send us paperwork, we have to send it back to the insurance company, then the insurance company has to let the pharmacy know, the pharmacy has to let the patient know. Then, hopefully, the patient can pick up their prescription.”

If insurance does not cover the medication, hormone prices range from $60 from a compounding pharmacy — which creates drugs tailored to a specific patient — to $400 if the client receives a brand-name estrogen shot. Oral hormones can be a lot cheaper, but there’s some evidence they are not as safe, Goldstein said.

Some, like Ivana, turn to black market drugs. While it’s difficult to put a number on how many seek out services outside of the doctor’s office, Goldstein says, “a lot of people” go outside the medical system for these interventions. The costs of black market hormones vary widely. People will charge anywhere from $50 to $350 for a single shot of estrogen, Goldstein told ABC News.

But using drugs without a doctor’s supervision can be dangerous. Although Ivana said she has no known health complications from using black market drugs, she knew people who weren’t as lucky.]
ABC News
The cost of some black market drugs versus plastic surgery is seen here in this graphic.
“When you do the black market drugs you don’t have doctors to check the hormone levels,” Ivana said. “I knew someone back in the late-‘90s; she ended up dying. I think her kidneys failed or something.”

For those seeking to alter their body shape, silicone shots are often used as a cheaper alternative to cosmetic surgery. Also termed “silicon pumping,” the practice can be extremely dangerous, doctors say. After being injected under the patient’s skin, silicon can slip into the bloodstream. The injection itself is sometimes thinned with dish soap or motor oil before being injected into the body.

In September, a woman in New York City died after having silicone injected into her buttocks. Four years ago, a dancer from London died after low-grade silicone traveled to her lungs.

“So all of this stuff sounds really extreme and I’m sure some people are thinking, ‘Well, why would someone do that to themselves?’” Goldstein told ABC News. “But it’s really, incredibly distressing to feel like your body doesn’t match who you are.”

Source : http://www.abccolumbia.com/2016/05/10/underground-how-this-transgender-woman-used-black-market-drugs-to-transition/

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'The system failed her': behind a suicide spike at a California women's prison

 During an 18-month period from 2014 to 2015, there were 4four suicides and at least 20 suicide attempts the institution. Photograph: Alamy

Advocates for female prisoners say that poor mental health care is causing preventable deaths at the California Institution for Women
At 14, Erika Rocha pleaded guilty to attempted murder in a shooting. Tried as an adult, she was sentenced to 19 years-to-life.

At 16, Rocha was incarcerated in solitary confinement in an adult prison until she turned 18, allegedly for her own protection from other inmates.

At 35, the day before her first parole hearing and just after being released from yet another stay in suicide watch – solitary confinement in a suicide-resistant room – she hanged herself in her cell at the California Institution for Women (CIW).

“She needed help,” Rocha’s sister Geraldine said. “She needed somebody there for her, not to say: ‘Here, go sit in a room by yourself and maybe it will go away.’”

Rocha’s suicide is just the latest in a spike at CIW, in San Bernardino County. During an 18-month period from 2014 to 2015, there were four suicides and at least 20 suicide attempts at CIW – eight times the national rate for female inmates and more than five times the rate for all California’s prisons. In comparison, there had been just three suicides at CIW in the previous 14 years.

According to advocates at the California Coalition for Women Prisoners (CCWP), 22 women have been added to suicide watch since Rocha’s death, so many that they are being housed in security housing units – solitary confinement cells intended for punishment, not mental health care.

Michael Bien, a lead attorney in Coleman v Brown, an ongoing lawsuit against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), said: “Once you start using segregation for suicide watch, you’ve lost.”

Colby Lenz, an advocate with CCWP, said: “The prison system failed Erika and her loved ones. After years of failed suicide prevention audits and CDCR negligence in remedying court-ordered violations, the blatant inaction of CDCR and CIW led to Erika’s tragic and preventable death.”

In 1995, a judge in the Coleman suit found that the standard of mental health care in California’s overcrowded prisons was so low as to be unconstitutional and ordered that mental health care for all of California’s prisons be placed under independent control.


Life in solitary: 'I can't see the sun rise, or the moon at night'
 Read more
But advocates and a recent independent report warn that despite the decades-old judicial order to improve mental health care for inmates, there have not been enough changes by the CDCR to stem what were preventable deaths.

Neither the CDCR nor the healthcare receiver’s office responded to a request for comment.

The state’s office of the inspector general said this month that it was taking steps to address the recent surge: “We have increased our usual monitoring practice with regard to attempted suicides by female inmates. We are currently conducting a case review as described above for every attempted suicide and are responding on-scene to all attempts that result in serious injury. We are also collaborating with CDCR regarding steps being taken to improve suicide prevention efforts at CIW.”
The inspector general’s office said that they were monitoring Rocha’s case and others.

In January, Lindsay M Hayes, a prison and jail suicide expert who advises facilities across the country, filed a nearly 150-page report on CDCR facilities as part of the 1995 judicial order that requires periodic reporting.

According to Hayes’ report, the CDCR had done little to improve identification of women who needed treatment. CIW logs that Hayes reviewed showed that, from October 2014 through March 2015, only nine women were sent for emergency care due to suicide risk. Yet he found over 400 referrals for suicidal behavior over the same period, a “staggering disparity”.

One of the more troubling suicides in the report occurred in March 2015, when a woman in her 30s, nearing the end of an eight-year sentence, hanged herself in her cell. Despite a long history of abuse, psychiatric illnesses dating back to her first hospitalization when she was 13, self-mutilation and multiple suicide attempts, including one less than a year before her death – she was listed as “low risk” for suicide.

The report also said that CIW had not ensured safe housing for all suicidal inmates – meaning there is nothing they can harm themselves with. The prison was also denying women in mental heath treatment access to yard time; only two of the women had been outside in the last month.

Bien, who has been working to improve mental health care conditions in CDCR facilities for over a decade, points to a host of reasons for the spike in suicides: “Overcrowding, understaffing and ineffective management and supervision all contribute.” He adds that CDCR has had appropriate procedures for mental health care and suicide prevention for some time, but “it has not been able to successfully train and implement the policies in a consistent way”.
Female inmates are a uniquely vulnerable group as compared to men; 85-90% of women sentenced to life have been physically and sexually abused, and, according to a 2005 Bureau of Justice Statistics report, 73% of incarcerated women have a diagnosed mental health problem. (The average across all California prisons is just under 50%, according to a study out of Stanford Law School.)

And while the men’s prisons have steadily decreased their numbers, the women’s still suffer from severe overcrowding. According to the CDCR’s reports, CIW is currently at 132% capacity, which is below the court-ordered population cap of 137.5%) and Chowchilla prison is at 145%. Both facilities are under-resourced, say advocates who have called for improved monitoring and resources.

While the CDCR has made steps to reduce prison populations and improve the identification of women in need of treatment, there is still the simple math problem of too many people and too few resources.

Source : http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/10/suicide-california-womens-prison-mental-health

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Number of overweight, expectant mums rising dramatically, health insurer warns

Obesity can cause complications for both mother and infant during pregnancy, labour, and after the birth. Photo: iStockphoto

The number of overweight, expectant mothers has risen dramatically, with more women and babies at risk of serious health issues, a major insurer has warned.
Nearly 60 per cent of pregnant Australians are obese or overweight, according to the Medibank Better Health Index, which compares with 49 per cent in 2008.
Medical director for Medibank Kevin Cheng said being overweight carried a number of risks, including a greater risk of complications during birth, a greater risk of developing a form of diabetes during pregnancy, as well as longer-term issues.
"Obesity can cause complications for both mother and infant during pregnancy, labour, and after the birth, and can put both mother and child at higher risk of developing health issues such as type 2 diabetes later in life," Dr Cheng said.


"If you're in the overweight category, with a BMI of between 25 and 30, and the obese category, which is a BMI of over 30, those are escalating points of increased risk.
"There's also a risk of getting gestational diabetes during pregnancy, associated with larger babies, which can obviously cause complications during birth itself," he said.
Medibank member data shows the number of births in which gestational diabetes was a factor has doubled between 2008 and 2015, in line with the survey results, Dr Cheng said.
Obesity Policy Coalition executive manager Jane Martin said women who were overweight had twice the risk of gestational diabetes, and for obese women that risk was eight times more than for a person of a healthy weight.
"Being overweight can affect your chances of getting pregnant and then having a healthy baby," Ms Martin said.
"It does that because it causes hormone imbalances and problems with ovulation."
Ms Martin said obesity levels were increasing in Australian women because of unhealthy eating habits linked to cheap, fast, processed foods, and limited time for exercise around work.
"People are going into pregnancy above a healthy weight and that's really because we are not doing enough to support people to eat healthily," she said.
"At the moment the system is pretty skewed towards highly processed food being cheap, available and heavily promoted. Its important that people have an environment where they are making healthy choices throughout their lives and not just for themselves but for their families."
A Medibank national weekly survey of about 1000 Australians has also shown a dramatic increase in mothers reporting anxiety and depression.
Last year, 23.9 per cent of expectant mothers were suffering from anxiety compared with 8 per cent in 2010. Depression in pregnant women increased by more than 4 per cent over the same period.
Dr Cheng said that while there were many factors that could cause mental health issues among expectant mothers, obesity had been identified as a significant contributor.
"It's essential that friends and family members look out for symptoms of mental health issues during a woman's pregnancy, and seek the support of qualified medical professionals if the mother appears to be struggling."

Medibank's advice for expectant mothers and those looking to start a family
If you're planning to get pregnant:
●      If you've been thinking about losing weight, now is the time. Women who are sitting at a healthy weight increase their chances of falling pregnant, and are more likely to have a healthy pregnancy and birth.
●      Take a look at the government's guidelines for recommended weight gain during pregnancy. For example, for women who fall into the 'obese' BMI category, it is recommended they gain five to nine kilograms.
●      If you suffer from a chronic condition such as asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure or depression, check with your doctor to ensure it can be managed effectively during your pregnancy.
If you're pregnant:
●      Eat a healthy, balanced diet and avoid foods like processed or raw meat, certain seafood, unpasteurised milk, and soft cheeses.
●      Exercise regularly to maintain a healthy weight during pregnancy. Great exercises for expectant mothers include walking, swimming, yoga, and aqua-natal classes.
●      Up folic acid, calcium and iron intake, which can help reduce the risk of your baby suffering from spinal and nervous-system issues. Folic acid can be taken as a supplement, but is also found in foods such as leafy green vegetables, fruit, dried beans and peas.
●      Depression can be hard to identify when you're pregnant, or have a baby, given it's a time of major change and adjustment. Learn how to read the signs, for example, if you've felt low in mood, alone, experienced a loss of interest in things you would normally enjoy, as well as decreased energy for prolonged periods, it's time to get help.

Souce : http://www.smh.com.au/national/health/number-of-overweight-expectant-mums-rising-dramatically-health-insurer-warns-20160510-goqw5a.html

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Health Check: Does Sex Count as Exercise?

Sex isn’t only a pleasurable experience, with some reports claiming the act also has health benefits that can be compared to those of exercise.
In fact, the physiological response to sex is similar to that of exercise. Landmark studies in the 1960s showed people having sex had an increase in their respiratory rate, heart rate and blood pressure.
These are all signs the body is working at an elevated rate, similar to that experienced during exercise.
More recently, these findings have been replicated by a number of researchers using less obtrusive, miniaturised and wireless equipment, enabling more realistic results.
Again, they found a significant increase in markers of physiological stress, such as heart rate and blood pressure. Comparing this to what happens during exercise, they showed sexual activity elicits a moderate level of physical stress – up to 75% of maximal exercise.
But they also noticed these physiological stress levels were intermittent. Much of the average time of sexual activity recorded (33 minutes) was spent at lower stress levels.
A more recent study of young Canadian heterosexual couples showed a bout of sexual activity was akin to moderate physical activity (such as brisk walking) when energy expenditure was measured.
Sex is kind of like exercise
So sex is exercise? Well yes and no. It depends on your definition of exercise. If you compare the two purely by the physiological change that occurs then yes, because sex elicits a change in human physiology akin to exercise.
But if you believe exercise should change human physiology for the better, in the long term, then perhaps no. This is because, for most of us, sex isn’t sustained long enough nor occurs frequently enough for a true physiological change to happen in the long term.
Also, we haven’t really explored the other benefits of exercise and contrasted them with sex. For instance, muscular health is recognised as a major component of a person’s health.
We know lots about gaining muscular health through resistance training and other exercises. But does sex give enough of a workout to change muscular health? Well … I sense a research project in the pipeline.
The studies mentioned above also reported a distinct difference between responses in males and female participants. The reasons for this difference – whether men are more physically active during sex compared to women or whether different sexual positions place a greater demand on the human body – have yet to be explored.
What about masturbation? Increases in heart rate and systolic blood pressure have been reported during masturbation. But both the level and duration of these increases weren’t as high or long as with intercourse.
Judging by measurements of heart rate, masturbation really only equates to light exercise, such as slow walking.
How exercise affects sex and vice versa
In many cases, exercise can also be helpful to sex. Research into pelvic floor exercises in women with pelvic pain, for instance, has shown they improve sexual function. Women reported increased control, confidence, hightened sensation and less pain.
While in men, exercises that train the perineal muscles in front of the anus help with premature ejaculation.
And what about how sex affects exercise? Should professional sportspeople, for instance, refrain from sex before a competition?
Not if they wait long enough after sex. Sex has been shown to have no negative effect on sports performance but can have a negative effect on recovery if you compete within two hours of having it. This means athletes could take longer to recover from one bout of exercise to another.
So in answer to the question of whether sex is really exercise. Kind of. But you can test it out for yourself and see how you feel.

Source : http://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/health-check-sex-count-exercise-wcz/

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Where To Get The Morning After Pill For Free: From Sexual Health Clinics To NHS Walk-In Centres

A report has revealed that the morning after pill costs up to five times more for women in Britain than other areas of Europe.

Research from the European Consortium for Emergency Contraception found that the pill can be bought for as little as £5.50 in France. But it costs as much as £31.60 when purchased from pharmacies in Britain.

While it might cost an arm and a leg to buy it from your local pharmacy, there are ways - thanks to the NHS - to access the morning after pill (and other forms of emergency contraception) for free.

You just need to head to right place.

Discussing the availability of the morning after pill, a spokesperson for sexual health charity FPA told The Huffington Post UK: “We know that for lots of women, being able to walk into a high street pharmacy is the most convenient option.

“But it should never be the case that someone has restricted access to contraception because they can’t afford it. We believe emergency contraception should be free in all settings.”

While it isn’t free everywhere, there are a number of health centres and clinics which offer pills such as Levonelle and EllaOne free of charge.

Levonelle

Levonelle is a pill which works by stopping or delaying ovulation.

It can be taken within 72 hours (or three days) of having unprotected sex. However it’s most effective when taken within 12 hours of sex.

According to NHS Choices, you can get hold of Levonelle, free of charge, from the following places:

Contraception clinics
Most sexual health clinics (or GUM clinics)
Most NHS walk-in centres in England
Most NHS minor injuries units
Most GP surgeries
Brook centres
Some pharmacies
EllaOne

EllaOne is a pill which stops or delays ovulation and makes it more difficult for a fertilised egg to implant into your womb.

It is only available to those aged 18 and over, because its safety and effectiveness has only been confirmed in women of this age group.

EllaOne can be taken within 120 hours (or five days) of having unprotected sex, however it’s more effective if you take it as soon as possible after having sex.

You can get EllaOne for free with a prescription from your GP.

If you have liver disease, severe asthma or take certain prescribed medicines or complementary medicines, an emergency IUD may be a preferred option.

Emergency IUD

Not many people know that in addition to the morning after pill, you can also rely on emergency contraception in the form of an IUD.

This is a small plastic and copper device that is fitted in your uterus up to five days (120 hours) after unprotected sex or within five days of the earliest time you could have released an egg.

It takes about 15–20 minutes to fit and is available to most women.

For more information about having an emergency IUD fitted, speak to your GP.

SEE ALSO:

Morning After Pill ‘Five Times More Expensive’ In Britain Than Other Parts Of Europe

Meet The Woman Hoping To Empower Women’s Sex Lives By Launching Female Contraceptive LUWI

Source : http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/where-to-get-the-morning-after-pill-for-free-levonelle-ellaone-emergency-iud_uk_57306c5ee4b0ade291a225f1

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Dieting: New mantra for a healthy sex life!

NewDelhi: Now, shedding an extra inch of your waist line can turn up the heat in your bedroom, according to a new research.

Researchers from the Pennington Biomedical Research Centre in Louisiana revealed this interesting fact that people who follow a restricted diet and can manage their out-of-control cravings for food properly enjoy their sex life more.

Dieting not only helps in reducing weight but also relives tension and enhances mood leading to super sex drive.

For the study, researchers carefully analyzed the diet of 218 healthy adults who were followed for two years.

They were devided into two groups. One group was randomly assigned to cut their calorie intake by 25 percent.

The other group went on with the regular diet. One of the researchers Corby Martin found that the calorie-restriction group reported improved mood and sex drive, www.sciencealert.com reported.

The calorie-restriction group also lost weight and enjoyed better sleep.

Calorie restriction among primarily overweight and obese persons has been found to improve sleep and sexual function.



A recent study found that staying with a spouse who is a light eater, especially at night, will decide whether you will follow your partner's footsteps and shed some extra kilos faster than ever.

According to the researchers from University of New South Wales's school of psychology, how much food your dining companion eats can have a big influence on how much you consume and eventually lose weight and have a healthy relationship.

This psychological effect, known as social modeling, leads people to eat less than they normally would if alone when their companion consumes a small amount of food.

The effect appears to be stronger in women than men.

“This may be because women tend to be more concerned about how they are viewed by others when they are eating,” said the study published in the journal Social Influence.

Source : http://zeenews.india.com/news/health/healthy-eating/dieting-new-mantra-for-a-healthy-sex-life_1882998.html

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What Your Sex Life Might Be Telling You About Your Health

While there’s no exact science that directly links sex to the state of your overall health, the reality is that sex plays a huge role in how you feel and affects your general well-being.

You’ve probably heard everything from “great sex is an excellent cure for migraines” to “sex can help boost your productivity, clear your sinuses and is really good for relaxing”. But a change in drive or enjoyment can be a cause for concern.

Ask the average guy who is unable to get or maintain his erections and you’ll see that the first thing he’ll say is “something is wrong with me”. The same goes for women who don't find themselves turned on interested in sex anymore. These things happen more than is publicly admitted, of course. But the fact is, it doesn’t mean that something is seriously wrong with you.

In many instances, sexual issues are temporary or situational, and will resolve themselves over time. This is particularly true when the individual is going through certain situations like grief, stress at work and or home, family tensions, etc. Outside and away from that situation, these people will typically find their previous appetites intact. But sometimes, there's something else behind that loss of interest.

Hormones, Sex Drive, and Living Between the Lines

Let’s back up a little and see how this works. People get turned on because their bodies are releasing certain hormones -- in this case, testosterone and estrogen. In fact, the same goes for other hormones produced by your adrenal, pituitary, and pancreatic glands or organs. As levels of one hormone increase or decrease, it has an effect on the levels of other hormones in your body, all of which control different functions in your body.

The reality is that fluctuations in your hormone levels can throw many things off in your body, and your sexual health is no exception. Below, we'll touch on a few examples of how this can play out over the course of your life.

Low Sex Drive

Low sex drive can be attributed to a number of potential causes. For instance, people who are worried or stressed are under the effects of higher levels of cortisol, and are less likely to engage in sexual activity, frequently seeing lower testosterone levels. Popularly referred to as low-t, lower testosterone levels can also occur due to other health issues, or naturally over the course of the aging process. Men suffering from low testosterone can experience everything from low sex drive to fatigue, muscle weakness, loss of muscle mass, and even osteoporosis.

Contrary to what many might think, symptoms for women with similar testosterone issues are identical -- the same hormones occur in both genders, though in differing mixes, and the anyone can suffer from an overproduction of one or a lack of another.

Erectile Dysfunction

There are many causes of ED, but for the purpose of this article, we’ll focus on the hormonal aspect. Men suffering from low testosterone, typically during their midlife stages, can find themselves having a hard time getting erections.

This happens because the body requires testosterone to send signals to the brain to release nitric oxide -- the compound responsible for getting and maintaining erections. When this doesn’t happen, erections become nearly impossible to get and difficult to maintain. It’s interesting how a body part that’s of inconsiderable size can play such a critical role in men’s psyche. Because men think of erectile dysfunction as a verdict on their sexual prowess, they dread it. And when it happens, the reaction can be anything from shrugging it off to having a full blown panic attack about it.

Stressing about it invariably compounds the issue -- now you're cooking with elevated levels of cortisol again. There have been cases where men even developed symptoms similar to heart attacks brought on by anxiety related to their sexual performance. While their partners might not worry about it if it happens once in a while, more frequent occurrences may point to a treatable issue.

Vaginal Dryness

While there are many causes of vaginal dryness, a major cause is often connected to hormonal imbalance. Women suffering from low testosterone and estrogen can often suffer from this, resulting in increased instances of yeast infections and pain during sex. Vaginal dryness is often common for women in the perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopausal stages, due to decreasing hormone production.

Prediabetes and Diabetes

While this may not directly have anything to with your sex life, it does play a critical role. The pancreas produces insulin, the hormone responsible for delivering sugars to your cells. When there’s excess sugar in your body for a prolonged period, the body attempts to convert it into energy as quickly as possible. When it can’t, it will store it as fat. And if you don’t do anything to accelerate the burning of those sugars, this can result in what is known as insulin resistance, eventually causing diabetes.

While the link between the two is still the subject of much research, there have been associations made between the two, and many men who suffer from erectile discomfort later find they have diabetes, and many with diabetes suffer from decreased sexual desire.

Retrograde Ejaculation

While this could fall under diabetes concerns, it deserves a separate mention. Retrograde ejaculation is when your ejaculate flows into the bladder instead of going outside the body through the urethra. This is often common in men suffering from diabetes and happens in conjunction with neuropathy or nerve damage. Your sexual health is an important part of your life. If you think you might be suffering from a hormone imbalance or other issue, talk to your doctor to see if hormone replacement therapies like those offered by Body Concepts and Wellness is right for you.

Source  : http://www.examiner.com/article/what-your-sex-life-might-be-telling-you-about-your-health

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